Public bus, Al Ghanim

Public bus, Al Ghanim (main bus station) (near the Gold Souq), e-mail: info@mowasalat.com. The public bus system is operated by the government-owned Mowasalat, which runs a wide network of routes catering for most of Doha, along with adja-cent and surrounding towns. Fares within the city cost between QR 3-9 and are payable with exact change, or with a Karwa Smartcard, available for purchase at the bus station. For visitors, the route maps can be cryptic, with fairly infrequent service on some routes; additionally buses are frequently behind schedule. There are dedicated sections at the front of buses for women and families; how-ever, in practice, some routes, particularly those to and from industrial areas, are used predominantly by male labourers and best avoided by women travelers. Timetables are online, some available to download; route maps are currently available only at the main bus station.

Shuttle bus, ☎ +974 4458 8888 (Mowasalat), e-mail: info@mowasalat.com. Daily 6AM-12AM ev-ery 15min. In order to ease ever-increasing traffic
congestion, Mowasalat has begun operating a new free shuttle bus service, servicing passengers with two routes in the West Bay (downtown) area; plans are underway to offer more routes in the future. A route map (Arabic and English) is available for download. Friday service is 'family only', i.e. solo men are not permitted. Free.